hi all newbie here

[carlos-1975]

ok i am on the prowl for a vr4 but quite specific on my spec so gonna start looking at japanese auctions has anybody imported there own and can give me a few pointers at the cost of shipping and insurance
carl

[HMG1K]

Welcome along!

A couple of people have tried the Japanese auctions here and will be able to tell you about how it was for them and price, etc.

Until then, have fun here!

[elnevio]

Quite a few people have imported through various companies. Mine came through Newera Imports, davcom1 and AncientOfMu got theirs through Bonsai, several people have bought from Ebony & Ivory, WS Imports, and many others.

If you literally mean importing it yourself, then you will still, AFAIK, need a Japanese agent to do the work re bidding, arranging payment of the necessary fees in Japan to get it to a dockside. Shipping is circa £800, IIRC. This should include insurance for goods in transit, I would have thought, but you would have to check that with the shipping agent. Unless you meant car insurance once over here! Plenty of threads about that, and TBH, it's a bit of a 'how long is a piece of string?' question. But because they are fairly unknown, and if you are a full member of CVR4, places like Sky Insurance, Adrian Flux and A-Plan will give you generous discounts. Typically though, I would have thought (from quotes I have obtained in the past) that insuring a VR-4 costs around half or two-thirds that for insuring an equivalent(ish) spec Scooby or Evo.

What sort of spec are you after? We're often happy to help! It is also often better to buy a car that's already in the UK, especially if it's a member's car, as you know the history, and what fluids, oils, etc have been changed. To ensure the longevity of a fresh import, you should budget in the region of up to £1,000 just to carry out all the servicing requirements, with recommended oils and fluids. This would include all belts (inc cambelt), waterpump, spark plugs, full auto transmission flush and change (may not be relevant if it's a manual, but would still be best to change the manual gearbox oil!), engine oil and filter, air filter, AYC fluids, rear diff and transfer box oils, etc. There's the possibility that a fresh import will have totally unsuitable mud/snow tyres on, which will all need replacing.

Just some pointers, hopefully!

Continue to have a good root around the forums. And ask any questions that you can't find the answer to on here.

[miller]

Welcome aboard CVR4,

Good luck in finding what you want, some nice spec cars out there.

Whereabouts are you in the UK? You never know there might be a member next door!


Mike

[valleyforge1]

Yeah welcome along. Hope it all goes smooth for you.